of the world, is the companion of the shepherd, and the director or
guardian of the sheep--would be enlisted in the service of man.

From the earliest known history he was the protector of the habitation
of the human being. At the feet of the 'lares', those household deities
who were supposed to protect the abodes of men, the figure of a barking
dog was often placed. In every age, and almost in every part of the
globe, he has played a principal part in the labours, the dangers, and
the pleasures of the chase.

In process of time, man began to surround himself with many servants
from among the lower animals, but among them all he had only one
friend--the dog; one animal only whose service was voluntary, and who
was susceptible of disinterested affection and gratitude. In every
country, and in every time, there has existed between man and the dog a
connection different from that which is observed between him and any
other animal. The ox and the sheep submit to our control, but their
affections are principally, if not solely, confined to themselves. They
submit to us, but they can rarely be said to love, or even to recognise
us, except as connected with the supply of their wants.

The horse will share some of our pleasures. He enjoys the chase as much
as does his rider; and, when contending for victory on the course, he
feels the full influence of emulation. Remembering the pleasure he has
experienced with his master, or the daily supply of food from the hand
of the groom, he often exhibits evident tokens of recognition; but that
is founded on a selfish principle--he neighs that he may be fed, and his
affections are easily transferred.

The dog is the only animal that is capable of disinterested affection.